The Islamic perspective on terrorism was subject to debate and scrutiny in the Global Lounge on Thursday night.Rumee Ahmed, a professor of Islamic studies in the Department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, gave a lecture on Islam and terrorism before opening the floor for discussion with the audience. Ahmed specializes in the study of suicide bombings, torture and terrorism.
The lecture began with a question: what is a terrorist? Ahmed said, "The problem of the definition of a terrorist is that the word is too narrow and broad at the same time." Fraught with inconclusive and ambiguous connotations depending on one's context, Ahmed cited this "inexact nomenclature" as a major problem within our society.
In the Islamic tradition, Ahmed said it is more important to ask what terrorism does than what it is. "To ask what something 'is' is an anathema to Islamic tradition; the word 'is' does not even exist in Arabic," said Ahmed.
"I define a terrorist in terms of what it does, and its effect on people: it creates fear, promotes a social or political ideology, and does not distinguish between civilians and non-civilians."
Most visibly, terrorism causes peoples and governments to reshape priorities. "The typical reaction is that security becomes more important than anything else. In the name of security, everything becomes justifiable," Ahmed said.
Ahmed said that, when threatened, people respond based on self-interest when they should be focusing on the needs of others. "Those who suffer the most from acts of terror are always minority groups, women and those with the least, and we should be expending our energies to help them," said Ahmed.
He added further that in a culture of fear, it is very easy to turn away from those in need and to foster a society of blame and isolation rather than interconnectedness.
"An us-versus-them mentality arises, which creates a perpetual cycle of blame and conflict where there is no victor," said Ahmed.
He said the Islamic message is to create "aman" or safety inside oneself and for factions to come together in mutual support to bridge the divide. "In the absence of prophethood, we are all the same," Ahmed said.
The majority of the event was composed of discussion. One theme that was repeatedly raised was the clash between practicality and idealism. Several audience members wondered whether prioritizing security might be a logical and practical reaction to terrorism, despite the issues this causes.
"From a religious perspective, salvation should be man's main concern and not security. And when we continue to operate with a knee-jerk response, a vicious cycle ensues," Ahmed replied.
"Religion doesn't operate on practicality, but assumes an ideal situation."
Students had mixed responses to the lecture. Amna Chaudhry, a first-year pharmacy student, generally agreed with what the professor had to say, but took issue with the idea that religion doesn't operate on practicality but solely on ideals.
"There are many practical elements of religion that are compatible with our society," said Chaudhry.
Amna Ellnour, a second-year linguistics student, enjoyed Ahmed's lecture. She agreed with his message that by prioritizing the needs of others instead of succumbing to self-interest and fear, a better society can be built.
However, Ellnour questioned the assertion that the onus seemed to be put more on society instead of on terrorists themselves. She felt that not much was discussed about actual terrorism, what it stems from, or how to interpret it. "Instead of discussing how to better react to terrorism, I would have liked to hear about what it is about a culture or society that inspires terrorists," said Ellnour.
This event was presented by the Pakistani Students Association as part of an initiative called Destination South Asia which began in 2012. According to marketing representative Ali Sikandar, this initiative entails various lectures and workshops, culminating in a conference in March which will focus on the politics, economics, fine arts and society of South Asian countries.